Make the Grade
by Crazy4YuYuHakusho
Summary: Twins at Georgetown encounter a series of explosions in multiple chemistry labs that threaten their lives. NCIS intervenes but as they dig deeper things twist even more- more than Gibbs anticipated. Warning: Abuse in later chapters.
1. Prologue

Make the Grade

Prologue

It was a bright Wednesday morning in Georgetown as the Alkaev twins walked into their typical restaurant. Dressed for success in their part-time job, the sisters clocked in, grabbed the waist-tied apron and waltz out in unison. The blonde girls smiled and parted when they hit the bar. They had tables to wait and four hours of serving, chatting and smiling to complete. They were ready to take everything on that went on in the restaurant- including the bar fights.

Though average height, the two could take grown men. Some of them were over twice their weight, but that didn't stop them. They got applause and the like, sometimes a few whistles, especially when a good crowd was in. They were the fantasy of man men, but no one dared touch them, even when they extended a hand to shake. The ones who accepted were a bit shaky in their grip.

Midway through their short shift, a huge bar fight broke out. Eight guys were throwing beer bottles and flinging chairs and fancy glasses. Some were beyond drunk, beyond wasted… Nothing really covered it. Kokoro jumped into action first, after she set down her tray and apron, that is. Kanon took notice as their voices increased in volume. She looked over her shoulder and noticed her sister take down a rather tall guy who somehow happened to be shirtless.

Excusing herself from her customers, she too set her items down and almost jumped in- one of the drunks fell back and landed at her feet.

"How charming," Kanon mumbled.

She stepped over him and pushed her way through to the bar where she hopped over it and cut off all of the alcohol. First part of the plan complete. As she stood, a bottle flew past her and hit the glass cabinet behind her. She shook her head and reached for the phone. She dialed the usual- 911- explained the situation and hung up. They knew the drill by now. Part two complete- now for the finale: to have some fun.

She joined the party and began to flip and trip guys. All but three were down and they weren't like the other five. Not only were they drunk but they must have been on something since their eyes were extremely bloodshot, more so than normal.

"Kokoro, what's your plan? I'm out," whispered Kanon.

"Wait for the cops?" she nervously stated.

Kanon scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Can we make it that long?"

Both of the girls looked at each other and then to the door their eyes wandered. They nodded and bolted. As planned, the three drunks left wobbling followed them to the door. The two girls bolted out and hit a figurative wall. Landing on the ground on their butts, they abruptly flung their heads up to see six people. Well, four standing and two on the ground near them, both of which were male.

The three goons tripped on their on two feet and fell, half of their bodies outside of the restaurant and half in, give or take some. Kanon and Kokoro looked over to them and within a few seconds of the glance, the cops came around the corner and took care of their problem. As the outside mess was cleaned up, the girls apologized for the literal running into the two they hit.

Kanon tended to the newcomers and Kokoro dealt with the bar mess. She had help with that so it went much faster.

"Hello!" Kanon began. "May I take your drink order?"

She got the typical beer and pop, but there was one odd request- Caf-Pow.

"I'm sorry, what's a Caf-Pow? Is it legal in this country?" she asked the pale, black haired girl.

That girl pouted a little and decided on a Shirley Temple with extra cherries, though she didn't seem like that kind of person. Off with a smile, she passed her sister and dragged her to the back.

"Hey, I got a text from Jonathan to pick him up. Cover for me, okay?"

"Yeah, no problem."

Kokoro walked out and got the drinks as Kanon grabbed the keys and headed to the nearby high school. When she arrived, she was directed to the lab where detention was being held. Walking in got everyone's attention, mainly for two reasons: detention had five minutes left and she was in her uniform.

Out of not wanting to be there anymore, the teacher released the students. Kanon's kid step-brother was relieved momentarily until he walked up to her- his expression changed fast.

"It's not what you think," he began his pathetic, on the spot excuse.

"Chotto matte, otouto," Kanon stated as he held her finger out nearly touching his nose.

_BEEP. BEEP BEEP. BEEP. BEEEEEEP. BEEP._

The teacher looked around and asked the two if they had heard the noise. Both nodded their heads, but couldn't associate it with anything in the room. The trio looked around and searched the room. Kanon texted Kokoro in the process.

_DING DONG._

Kokoro just smiled at the group of six as she took her phone out of her apron. "Sorry about that. It's my sister."

One head at the table shot up. "Wait," he stated, "you're not the same one from earlier."

The other five looked at him.

"Did you just notice, DiNozzo?" asked the older man with the short graying hair.

Kokoro just smiled as she took the plates. While in the kitchen, she checked the text and she wasn't comfortable, but she went on with work. She printed off the check and grabbed the black fold. Swinging by the table, Kokoro made sure there was nothing else they wanted before dropping off the bill.

DING DONG.

She looked at it and began to spaz. She frantically dialed the number and tried to remain calm, though she pretty much failed.

"Jonathan, what happened?" she demanded.

"The beeps were a bomb. She's being transported to the hospital. You gotta get down there!"

"Might help to tell me which hospital, kid."

"We'll take you there," said one of the voices behind her. Kokoro turned around to see four badge- four NCIS badges.


	2. An Uncommon Disorder

Make the Grade

Chapter One

**An Uncommon Disorder**

* * *

"Oh my gosh, is she okay? Do you know? I'm sorry I'm freakin out so badly, but I really need to know if she's okay. It'll bug me for… I don't know how long, but it will bug me A LOT!" Kokoro spurted out quickly and in a matter of a few seconds. She looked around at the agents in the car. None of them responded. One of them, McGee, was trying to keep her calm, but it wasn't working so well. She just needed to know if her sister was alive- that was all.

"Miss, shut up!"

That did manage to silence her but her eyes still darted around to others.

Tony gave it a go earlier; however, his obviously friendly method was not welcomed by her. Her one nasty glare kept him at bay for the duration of the trip.

They arrived at the hospital, walked in, and entered the room to find the person of interest not there. There was however a teenage boy sitting in the room wondering who these people were.

"Who the he…" he began. He was abruptly cut off.

"Jonathan!" exclaimed Kokoro.

He froze and realized his sister's counterpart was with the cops. He was in hot water two times over. His head hung as she stepped up and gave him a verbal beating of sorts. As she was doing this, the patient was being wheeled back in- still bedridden, of course.

The senior-most agent took the nurse aside while the others tried to keep everything somewhat orderly.

"Do you know anything about what happened or her condition?" he asked her.

"Other than she just got out of surgery, nothing, sir. Sorry. The doctor will be in her room momentarily if you would like to wait. I'm assuming you're family," the nurse spoke gently.

"No. NCIS." He walked back into the room. The scene was completely different. One of his agents was keeping the boy on one side of the room while another was holding onto the girl. A heated sibling rival- that one was coming.

The only good thing that stemmed from all of the noise was the coming around of the patient- Kokoro's counterpart, her cool. She stirred slowly and attempted a few times to sit up. She didn't make it far, but it was far enough to make an impact on the quarreling twosome.

"You two need to shut the heck up NOW," she bluntly stated. Pain overcame the need for sarcasm today.

Both their heads bolted over to her as she was rubbing the side of her head.

"I have a headache," Kanon stated innocently. It was the truth, though.

"But, Sasha, she started it first!" Jonathan whined.

Kanon or, to Jonathan when he was in trouble, Sasha glared at him. "Still don't care. Shut up. Now. Please. If you have to, go away to do so." She glanced over to her sister. "I don't suppose I have to tell you."

Kokoro just smiled. That was her way of understanding something.

The room fell silent and it broke in a few minutes when the doctor came in. Her dad, a Petty Officer First Class, followed him. The announcements were in order before he addressed the patient, just because of the amount of people there. He explained the injuries to everyone, especially to NCIS since the explosive used in the lab was a block of C-4. There were also hints of mercury. The team would get some evidence when they left the hospital.

When the doctor left, the chatter in the room exploded. The father was talking to the son and the sisters were talking to each other, sort of. The team of special agents were looking around the room before the attention of the family was caught by a loud 'hey'.

"If no one minds, I'd like to get a few answers from the patient," announced Special Agent Gibbs. That was a statement. Period.

The dad, son and daughter left the room. McGee, DiNozzo and David talked to each one of them outside the room. Gibbs approached the bedside and had his pad and pen at the ready.

"Do you mind a few questions?"

"Not at all. Shoot, so to speak." She gently smiled. She too did that.

The questions were brief and, to her, did not make much sense as how they related to the explosion. Some were obvious and others were, well, vague. She had a few of her own and they were answered to the best of the special agent's knowledge, which for the moment, was shallow.

"The explosion didn't seem to cause that much damage since your kid brother if fine, so why did you need surgery?"

"Oh, sorry. Should have mentioned that one first. Probably would've cleared up a lot of things," Kanon stated as she showed Gibbs her medical alert necklace. She flipped it over and pronounced it. "I have afibrinogenemia."

-----+++++-----

Outside, Tony dealt with the father while Ziva took the girl and McGee the relatively young boy. All three of them, for the most part, got the same general answers: he twins had an uncommon disorder, no one knew who wanted them dead, and yes, all of them were aware of the surveillance and protection detail they were under since their father did a lot of top secret work.

The three of them gathered as the let the family sit and take a minute to think about what just happened and what could come of it.

"So, what do we do, Tony?" McGee asked.

"Anticipate."

"That's what Gibbs says, Tony."

"I know, Probie. I know."

Gibbs step foot out of the room and let the family back in so they could decide what to do. "You three better get ready for long nights."

The three field agents just stared at Gibbs as he sat down and waited for the family's answer, even though he already knew what it would be.


	3. Camaraderie

Make the Grade

Chapter Two

**Camaraderie  
**

* * *

Not even fifteen minutes later, the father and sister walked out of the room. She sat and let him do all of the talking. She didn't look pleased at all.

"Until this is figured out, we have decided to take the protection detail. We're not on any right now," he stated softly. He had that tone of voice most of the time.

Kokoro still pouted even though she was going to be better off with it. No one figured out why she was that way. They discussed the family in order to assess the detail protection and as they did so the doctor walked in and examined the patient again.

"Well, you should be fine, but I would prefer you stay over night, just in case." He sealed his statement with a smile.

"I would rather go home. I really would. May I just go home with someone to watch me? Please?" Kanon had big brown eyes and flashed them a few times over.

The doctor chuckled. "Okay, as long as someone is with you, then you can get signed out. I'll talk to your dad."

Kanon smiled as the doctor walked out of them room. Inwardly she squealed and allowed her smile to beam. Her shining moment was interrupted by a disgruntled senior field agent. She looked over, though not as happy.

He was tired; she could tell. He walked over and introduced himself. Special Agent DiNozzo paused since she gave him an odd look.

"Something wrong, Miss?"

"Kanon. And, uh, I don't mean this to come off in an impolite manner, but you're Italian, yes?"

He nodded and had a midly shocked look on his face.

_She kind of talks like Ziva… Uh…_

"And, you're going to be protecting myself and my sister, yes?" Again he nodded. "Um, I'm just gonna say this now- you and my boyfriend just aren't going to get along well. He's got a thing against Italians. He's always getting into altercations with the crew on campus."

"Crew?" he asked.

Kanon explained that a lot of students ended up in crews or groups of students generally based on race. It just happened- it wasn't planned. She and her sister were in, what students colloquially call, the resurrected KGB. It wasn't as bad as what it sounded like, she promised him that. A lot of students were intimidated by the name, so they were well known around the campus.

After her explanation, he father came into the room to giver her clothes to change into. She smiled and reached for the curtain since Tony was still in the room. He did turn around to give her privacy, but her dad was right in front of him at the door, so that was another reason. She pulled the curtains back and was ready to go home for the night. Everyone would be in the same house in order to try to get a feel of the detail for the rest of the time they had to be there.

Upon arrival, the twin's stepmother Lilianne had the table set for the family and the guests and dinner was about ready. Everyone took off their shoes and had a seat at the table. The twins helped with what was left of the cooking.

"Sasha, dear, would you get Rain? She's in her bedroom."

She nodded and walked up the stairs. The first room on the right was her younger sister's room. She knocked lightly three times and the door opened to reveal a sleepy child.

"Dinner's ready, sleepy head. Mom asked me to get you, so come on," she stated as the young one bolted out of the room and down the stairs. She nearly tripped on the way down. Kanon was only a few steps behind her as the young girl slid into the kitchen and made friends with the lower cabinets. She rubbed her head as she stood up. Kanon just smiled since it would be rude to laugh at her half-sister.

Everyone took a seat, but it was obvious that there was an empty one. Kanon and Kokoro looked around and immediately figured out who wasn't there. Kanon pulled out her phone and Kokoro went to check the backyard. By the time, Kokoro got back in the house, Drew was already seated.

"But how?" she inquired her sister.

"Text moves a lot faster than you. And, he was in the house." She just left it at that.

Again, the remainder took a seat and dishes were passed around. Camaraderie was pleasant and the conversations weren't limited at all. There were many laughs and smiles that were connected to the chatter and the food. Plates were bare and everyone was nearly satisfied- dessert was on the mind and the guests were eager to see what it was.

"Pirozhki!" Alice giggled happily. She didn't quite get the pronunciation right, but it was close. She brought the plate to the table and set it in the middle.

"What's piroz-something?" asked McGee.

"It's a Russian pastry, McGee," said Gibbs as he grabbed one.

"What's in it, boss?" asked Tony. He eyed it oddly. He never had one, but it did look good, so he might go for one just because it looked irresistible.

Gibbs shrugged and pointed to the young girl. She also shrugged. She didn't make it- she just knew what it was.

Ziva took one and bit into it. As she chewed, she figured it out and smiled at Tony. After she swallowed, she told him it was yabloko.

"Ya-what-a?" Tony asked, annoyed that he wasn't getting any answers.

"Don't question the pastry, Special Agent," Kokoro said as she grabbed two, giving one to Kanon. "Just eat it."

Tony eyed the remaining eight pastries and reach out for one. He ate it and it did taste amazing. He smiled and continued without any protests. He even went for a second one since there were a few left over. In the midst of his second pastry the door bell sounded. The twins looked at each other.

"Expecting anyone?" they asked each other out loud.

Everyone could hear the sound of a male voice outside the door. He was yelling and he didn't sound completely happy.

"Sounds like Mykola," Kokoro said.

Kanon looked over at her and gave her the look, the one that wanted to make people crawl under a rock. "Thanks for the obvious… Someone must have spit in his coffee, darn it." She got up and attempted to walk to the door, but DiNozzo intercepted.

"I'll get it," he stated, but she reminded him about her boyfriend not getting along with certain people and explained what he might do. Tony decided to let her get the door- he would be around the corner to make sure everything would be fine.

"Girl, why you here? You said you'd be at ya hall," Mykola stated with some drops of anger in his voice.

"I can't spend time with the family? I gotta ask you for permission?"

"Yeah, that's right."

She stepped out and closed the door behind her. She was a lot shorter than he, but she did her best to get in his face and get her message across. None of it was in English however, so DiNozzo couldn't get anything useful out of it. The argument was loud enough for Ziva to catch it and laugh at it.

"She is handing it to him," she stated as she chuckled. She said that mainly to annoy Tony.

"You know what…" Mykola nearly yelled. He paused for a few seconds and changed his pace of words. "You and me- tonight at the waters. You're getting wet this time!" With that statement, he left the premises.

"You keep telling yourself that," Kanon said silently, more so to herself than anything. She walked back to the door and opened it forcefully, enough to send Tony back a few feet.

"Didn't your mother ever tell you not to stand right behind a door?" she asked him. He shook his head and walked back to the dining area. Before she followed, she cleared her mind and calmed down. "I'm good."

She rejoined her family and guests. They spent a little more time before the table was cleared and the dishes were cleaned. It was about seven at night. The family went into the living room to discuss the detail and the team went into the kitchen to go over their plan.

"McGee, you tail Alice and Drew. Their schools are connected and there's no chemistry lab. Ziva, I want you on Jonathan's tail 24/7. DiNozzo cover the twins. Most of their classes are in the same building at the same time. Find middle ground. I got the parents. Any questions?"

"Uh, yeah, Boss, what's the waters and what's getting wet?" McGee asked. Tony chuckled at the Probie's lack of street knowledge.

"DiNozzo!" Gibbs stated harshly. It wasn't yelled, but it got his attention. "Since you're laughing about it, you can explain it to McGee while I check on the family." Gibbs left the room while Tony was stuck explaining it to McGee and Ziva. He was pretty sure Ziva didn't know what it meant either.

"So, are we good on the detail explanation?" Gibbs asked the family. They all seemed to nod in agreement. "DiNozzo, David, McGee, in here, now." The walked into the room in the order they were called. "Get acquainted with the person or people you're going to be watching." No one moved and Gibbs just stared at them. McGee 'volunteered' to step up first. Alice ran up to him and began rambling about anything she could think of. Drew drug her and him into a separate room. Ziva walked up to the other young child as was escorted upstairs. There was a loft up there. The twins stood and waited for Tony to follow. They too went upstairs, but they had a room they shared, so it was all good. Gibbs and the parents stayed right where they were.

When they were in the room with the door closed, Tony asked a series of questions pertaining to college life and their job. All of which he could miraculously handle since they had classes at virtually at the same time in the same building and their work schedule was the same.

"One more thing," he said. His attention was directed to the older twin. "So, is your boyfriend coming over to get you or does he expect you to show."

"He expects me to show, but I never do. That's when he comes here with the gang."

Tony looked her dead in the eye at the mention of gang. "He's in a gang?"

"Yeah, all crews have gangs. Basically it's the crew during the day and at school 'cause the girls are there. At night, it's gang time, baby- boy's night out, basically."

"I assume they come prepared."

"A little too prepared actually," Kanon said. She explained that 'the waters' was their shack where they had their ammo, weapons, drugs and booze. She didn't know where it was 'cause she never met them at the rendezvous spot.

"Hold that thought," Tony said as he exited the room and went downstairs. He walked into the living space and before he could get Gibbs' attention he spoke.

"What DiNozzo?"

"Problem, Boss," he said as he explained the situation. Gibbs thought it over as the parents, especially the father became outraged and went on about how he was a no good boyfriend.

"Go home, DiNozzo," he said suddenly. Everyone looked shocked. Tony stared at him for a few moments before he questions Gibbs' order.

Gibbs looked over at him and finished the obvious part- for his sake mainly- the parents didn't understand what he meant. "Take her with you, Tony."


	4. What's Movie Pizza?

Make the Grade

Chapter Three

**What's Movie Pizza?**

* * *

After a brief shower, Kanon walked out of DiNozzo's bathroom. Towel in hand using to dry her hair, she walked into the living room and stared at the TV. "What's that?"

Tony looked back and just smiled. "It's a great movie." He went on to explain Forrest Gump. (Of all movies…) She nodded as he kept going.

"How about I just watch the movie, 'kay?" she asked him. The explanation was incredibly lengthy since Tony had an abyss of movie knowledge. She walked around and sat next to him on the couch. She removed the towel from her head and her blonde hair fell limply past her shoulders.

Tony looked over and did a double take. He paused the movie and started a series of questions. "What happened to your hair? The big hair with random curls and waves."

She laughed. "You didn't really think it was natural?" She looked over to see the shocked look on his face. "Oh, so you did think it was natural. So sad, yes?"

"Okay, you kinda talk like Officer David. What's up with that?" Tony asked, still eying her oddly.

"Maybe because you are looking at me with an odd expression… Stop that," she said, though it wasn't the real answer. "On a more serious note, I've only live in the US for five years or so. My English isn't perfect, Special Agent."

"Tony, not Special Agent. And, please tell me you're not Israeli. I don't know if I can handle another one."

Kanon laughed. "Heavens, no. I don't even look Israeli, Tony," she stated, emphasizing his name. "I'm part Russian and my sister and I lived there with my mother until she passed."

Relief spread across his face and was soon replaced by confusion. "So, the lady I met earlier isn't your real mom?"

"Step-mother, Tony. When you say real mom with isn't, you make her sound alien. She's a nice lady, but I wouldn't call her mother. She's more like an older friend. Kinda like you."

"What'd you mean?"

"You're old, Tony," she said, attempting to keep a straight face. She failed since she started laughing. "You're close to her age." She smiled big, just to let him know she was kidding.

He too smiled, but on the inside, he was a bit annoyed. Tony DiNozzo was not old- not by any standard. "I'm not old, Kanon."

"Mmhm, if you say so," she began to roll-up the sleeves on her night shirt. She stopped when they were right above her elbows.

Without a word, Tony got up and headed toward the refrigerator. He opened it and reached in for a square box. Carrying it back, he opened it to grab a slice of his special and favorite pizza. He chuckled a little as he sat down.

Kanon stared at it. It wasn't something she saw often. "What's that, Tony?"

"Pepperoni, sausage and double cheese pizza- at a perfect time, too."

"I thought it was popcorn when one watches a movie."

"Not here. It's movie pizza," he said happily as he took a bite out of it.

"Movie pizza? What's that?"

DiNozzo could have died with that statement. His stare, filled with confusion and utter shock, pierced her eyes. "How can you not know what movie pizza is?"


	5. On Edge

Make the Grade

Chapter Four

**On Edge**

* * *

Forrest Gump was at the credits when Tony's cell rang. He stopped the movie and answered his phone. "Yeah, Boss?"

"How's everything going, DiNozzo?"

"Everything's fine. I'm just watching movies, eating pizza and being shocked by little miss blondie," he said as he smiled at the last part.

"Whatever it is, get over it. And keep on eye on your windows; we have a smashed one over here."

"Got it, Boss." With that statement, Gibbs hung up and Tony set his phone back where it was.

* * *

"McGee, what do you have on that note and brick?" Gibbs asked. He walked up to him and stared at his screen not quite understanding everything that was going on.

"Uh, well, I am working on it, and…" McGee paused as he tried to think of something else to say. He just got the potential evidence. He wasn't quite sure what to say.

"And?" Gibbs asked.

"I will see if there are fingerprints?"

Gibbs didn't look content with the response, but he did take a seat which gave McGee some breathing room to do his work. Gibbs was watching him, though.

* * *

"Little miss blondie?" Kanon asked Tony as he was deciding on another movie to watch. "Where did you come up with that idea?"

"Don't you mean when?" he asked her back as he found a movie that would be perfect- in his mind- The Outsiders. "This is a great movie."

"Didn't you say that about the other one?"

Tony looked at her and nodded, but he did explain the significance of The Outsiders to her. She just nodded. He took his seat and pressed play.

"Get ready to be amazed at this movie. It has a profound meaning."

Just as Kanon was about to ask him about the profound meaning, a rather ample crash echoed throughout the apartment. She jumped out of surprise and Tony whipped around out of worry. The sound came from Tony's bedroom. He threw the phone at her and pushed her into the kitchen- the wall that separated it from the bedroom was intact

and the windows were covered.

In the process, he grabbed his gun and was at the ready as he went into his own room. He checked it out and other than a broken window, everything was good. Upon exiting his left foot graced its presence against a brick. He grumbled inwardly and looked down.

_…keep an eye on your windows…_

He took it with him and left the door open. The brick was set on the counter as his search for a garbage bag or something of the like began. He needed to temporarily patch up the window.

"Looking for this?" she asked him as she held up a black garbage bag and duct tape.

"Yes. How did you know where that was?"

"I had time to look," she stated blankly as she handed the items to him. He just took them and did what he could do.

She went back to the couch and, while Tony was taping the bag, his cell rang. She didn't bother him- she answered it.

"Hello," she began. She didn't even look at the called ID.

"Where is DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked. He sounded slightly perturbed.

"Bedroom. He's taping up…" She was cut off when Tony grabbed the phone from her.

"Hey, Boss," Tony said with a huge smile on his face. He nodded a few times and kept saying 'yeah' and 'uh huh' and ended all of it with 'on it, boss'. Putting the phone in his pocket and the gun back in the holster, Tony explained the game plan to Kanon.

"Okay, give me about three…" she was interrupted by her cell phone. She had a text message. "Hold on." She checked it and her content expression turned completely sour. "Not good."

Tony looked over her shoulder as she texted away. She kept going even as he questioned her.

"Who's that and what is going on?" he asked as he made his way to the brick. He checked it over and found a note inside one of the holes. He opened it up and read it to himself. He read it a few times over just to make sure he was getting it right. He put the note in his pocket and walked back to the texting girl.

"Got a problem, Tony," Kanon announced as she sped through the buttons. "Boyfriend found out I wasn't at home and he's on the hunt."

"Yeah, I know," he said in a not so happy expression.

She looked over at him confused. "What do you mean?"

DiNozzo pulled the note out of his pocket. "He left a note."

"Tony, he's still searching. He's in the park right now."

He looked between the note and her while sinking further into an abyss of bewilderment. It was time for good ol' detective work.

"How do you know he's in the park?"

"I can access his phone's GPS- that a good enough reason?"

He nodded, but now he was really worried about smashed window and note. If it wasn't a pissed off boyfriend, then who was it?

"Well, while he's in the park, grab your stuff and let's go," DiNozzo announced. He was already prepared- his bag was good to go and in the trunk of his car. She threw her stuff into her backpack while texting. Slipping one of the straps to her shoulder, she walked over to Tony and nodded that she was good to go.

They slipped on their shoes and before walking out the door, Tony asked her an impertinent question.

"Are you wearing shorts under that?" he asked as he eyes her legs.

She mocked his question, but she did answer it. "Yes. Wanna see?"

He just smiled and didn't bother answering her- maybe another time. He reached for the door knob and turned it. When the door was open, both did not proceed outside. Some unexpected people were waiting at the threshold. Kanon looked a little worried, but Tony was pale in the face and frozen in his tracks- similar to a deer in the headlights.

His cell phone rang, but this time it wasn't answered.

* * *

Author's Note: Ahahah, not really. So I really enjoy cliffhangers, but I think this is an obvious one. Constructive criticism is appreciated, so please, please go ahead and do so. Other than that, I have nothing for the moment. Hope you enjoyed.


	6. How Many Beeps to the ER?

Make the Grade

Chapter Five

**How Many Beeps to the ER?**

* * *

His cell phone rang, but this time it wasn't answered…

* * *

Slamming his phone shut, Gibbs let out an exasperated sigh and began to flood McGee's brain full of questions pertaining to the brick and note. "Any day, McGee," he stated as he hovered over him.

McGee was waiting on the e-mail back from Abby. Once the 'bing' sounded from his computer, he opened it and was immediately stunned. Gibbs didn't wait for an answer. He hollered out instructions for him and Ziva and he left to go to Tony's apartment.

* * *

Both Tony and Kanon didn't say anything as three suits made their way into his apartment. The door clicked closed and silence flooded the closed space. Sweat was rolling down the side of Tony's face. Kanon's hands were shaking slightly, but nothing to warrant attention.

The three suits looked like they were from the mafia or something of the sort. They could be mistaken for triplets- about the same height, same suit, black shades, guns, shiny Rolexes and clean, polished shoes. It was a scary sight for the two residents of the apartment. For every step the trio took forward, the duo took at least one back until both of them hit a wall.

"You don't learn, Anthony," said one of the men. He chuckled a little as he and the other two closed the gap. They were about six inches from the two of them.

The man to the left of the only one who spoke swiftly reached out and grabbed Kanon by the shirt collar. He brought her up to his eye left and smirked. She twitched as he stared her down.

'_If this is it, it's not so bad; if this is it, it's not so bad'… Kanon told herself._

* * *

While speeding to Tony's Gibbs dialed his senior field agent's number again, but it continued to ring and proceed to voicemail. He slammed the phone shut and pushed the gas pedal even more.

Gibbs arrived in the parking lot that was to the right of the apartment complexes. He surveyed the area before proceeding to the direction the stairs were. Catching a glimpse of a black Cadillac with tinted windows, he stopped when he reached the first step. He stared at it. He had seen it before…

DiNozzo's father.

Gibbs bolted up the stairs and ran as fast as he could. He knew his field agent and the girl were in trouble- more trouble than either one of them could handle.

* * *

Meeting the floor on her side, Kanon rolled onto her back and slowly pulled herself up to a sitting position. She looked up in time to see Tony being harassed by the last 'mafia' man. He got slammed against the wall a few times, punched, kicked and thrown onto the floor, where he once stood.

A few light beeps echoed through the room and the three laughed as they took their leave. They left the door ajar.

Kanon scrambled over to Tony who, at this point, was shaking and still in shock. She held him close- his head was on her shoulder.

He spoke though his words came out shaky. "You okay?"

"I'm fine," she immediately blurted out. She was more concerned for him. Her nerves were working over time.

And the random beeps weren't helping.

"Do you hear those, Tony?"

He nodded and looked around. As he searched, the beeps were more frequent and louder. "I think we're in trouble," he stated as he still searched.

Kanon got up and Tony followed her, still very close to her.

'_Please don't let there be a bomb… They're just screwin with me… Just screwin with me… That's it,'_ Tony thought to himself.

"DiNozzo!"

Tony whipped around when he heard the sound of his boss' voice. His shocked facial expression broke and a smile emerged. Elation and color flooded his face and his new outward expression. His hand latched onto Kanon's wrist as he took the first step out of the apartment.

That's when the unseen bomb detonated.

Tony pushed Kanon against the wall and used himself as a shield, minimizing her damage and possibly increasing his.

"DiNozzo? DiNozzo!" Gibbs yelled as he reached the threshold into Tony's apartment. Smoke was rolling out. Gun at the ready and a hand to cover his mouth and nose, he walked into the mess that was once a living room. He ran into a couple of pieces of the shredded door.

Kanon slid down the wall as she heard Gibbs' voice. She felt Tony's weight on her and shook him a little. "Tony," she whispered. He grumbled a little bit, but it wasn't clear as to what he said.

She coughed a few times before calling out for Tony's boss. "Special Agent Gibbs!" She coughed a few more times and Tony's left hand grasped her right shoulder. Footsteps came toward the two of them and Gibbs' holstered his gun.

"You okay?" he asked the girl.

"I'm fine, but I don't think Tony is at all. He took a pretty severe beating," she said as Tony grumbled again. "That's all he's been doing other than holding onto my shoulder."

"I'm taking both of you to the hospital," Gibbs said as he grabbed onto Tony and helped him up. Again, Tony said something neither one of them could understand, but Gibbs' wasn't about to negotiate an ER visit with him. "It's an order, Tony. You too, Kanon."

She stood and was right next to Tony since he was searching for something to hold onto- other than Gibbs. Her shoulder volunteered again as the three of them left the dusty and messy apartment.


	7. Record

Make the Grade

Chapter Six

**Record**

* * *

The forensic scientist and the junior special agent worked quickly and effectively in the lab this early Thursday morning. They were running the remains of each explosive to see if they could find a connection. If one was discovered, then the process of finding the person would immediately commence. Abby made it her sole mission of the morning to find out who exactly hurt Tony and the girl she met only once.

Abby's computer beeped and another screen opened to show the results of the chemicals she ran- identical.

"Yes!" she yelled, ecstatic that there was a match in the explosive materials. She bounced around her lab for a few extra moments before getting back on track. Now, she had to identify the person.

Staring the evidence down, Abby motioned for McGee to walk over to the table she presided over. She handed him one and she took the other. Though fingerprints seemed to be out, she looked just to settle the jittery nerves that kept jumping out at the thought of fingerprints.

* * *

In the hospital room, Tony slept with the help of a small dose of medication. His injuries weren't drastic, but he wasn't close to a hundred percent. For the moment, he looked peaceful and everything looked pretty good- in terms of vital signs. Kanon was up, but not moving around and such. She sat up in the bed and stared out the window. The sun had already risen and the skies were graced with a brighter, bolder color than what the night brought.

The Supervisory Special Agent walked into the room with two warm cups of what appeared to be coffee. He set one of them down on the moveable table that spanned across the bed. Kanon looked at it and back to Gibbs' who sat in a chair that faced her.

"Sorry, but I don't drink coffee," she said as she turned her attention away from the cup.

"I know," he replied as he took a sip of his coffee- plain, good, strong coffee.

Her head tilted to the left slightly as she gave him a questioning look. She never mentioned what she drank, so she wondered how he knew she didn't drink coffee.

"Your sister told me."

"Oh, so I assume this is tea."

"Never assume…" he paused to take another sip. "And, yes, it's tea."

She smiled and redirected her eyes back to the cup, which she gladly took. Once the warm liquid hit her tongue, she identified the type of tea that was selected- Earl Grey. That was indeed the drink to wake up to in the morning. Her smile held on for a little longer.

A generic ring tone broke the silence of the room. Gibbs answered his phone and his ears were graced by the voice of his favorite forensic scientist.

"What do you have, Abbs?"

"Names for the people who planted these C-4s. We got multiple partials and all of them bring up three people, Gibbs," Abby announced. She rambled on for a few more seconds before Gibbs set her back on track.

"Names, Abby."

"Malachi Wright, Sebastian Brown and Riley Kingston. Gibbs," Abby said.

"Yeah?"

"Go get 'em," she said with a smile dancing in her tone.

"I will, Abbs. Good work." He closed his phone and walked over to DiNozzo to see if he could wake him. The first attempt was a failure, so Gibbs waited a few minutes before he tried again.

Before the second attempt, Tony stirred. He wasn't completely lucid, but he could for coherent sentences, so Gibbs took it.

"I'll be back, Tony. Make sure you don't try to check out; someone has their eyes on you," he told his senior field agent as he stared him straight into the eyes.

Tony looked around to see the watcher, but he didn't notice anyone different. "Who's watching me, boss?"

"She is," he said as he pointed to the person who Tony was supposed to be watching. Reversed roles always caught someone off guard.

Tony just nodded as he let his head fall back onto the pillow. Gibbs left and Kanon got out of bed to move to a chair that was place right next to Tony's bed.

"Good morning, Sunshine. The Earth says 'hello'," she playfully said to him as she smiled big.

* * *

McGee looked at his watch as got up from his stool. "Sorry, Abby, but I need to go back now. I have to watch over two kids today. Ziva will be leaving by the time I get there." He grabbed his stuff and bid her well for the day.

Alone to work freely, Abby turned on her music and started to check out her mystery names. She checked their backgrounds, employer history and the such- she even tried to tie them to the family's father Petty Officer First Class Makoto Koizumi.

After a couple of hours of searching and making a few minor connections, she found a huge lead that would give Gibbs something to smile about- all three of them served time while trying to obtain information from the Navy illegally. And, they were caught by Petty Officer Koizumi.


	8. As The Day Goes On

Make the Grade

Chapter Seven

**As The Day Goes On**

* * *

DiNozzo mumbled a salutation, but it came out muffled since his mouth was covered by the pillow. He grumbled a little bit more and shifted until his face separated itself from the pillow. Flat on his back and somewhat comfortable, he looked over and flashed his brilliant smile.

"How ya doin this fine morning?" Kanon said.

Tony's smile dissipated as she said that. It didn't seem characteristic of her to use that type of terminology. "What's with the change of style?"

"I can adapt, Tony. Anyway, how are you feeling?"

He grinned as he spoke. "I've felt better, Kanon, much better."

* * *

Back in the bull pen, Gibbs sat in his chair and thought of a way to get all three men into the interrogation room. Also, he was waiting on more answers about the evidence from the gothic forensic scientist. Tired of sitting around waiting, Gibbs decided to visit autopsy before heading to the lab. Talking to Ducky could provide him some clever insight.

Stepping out of the elevator and past the moving doors, Gibbs walked into autopsy. For once there wasn't a body. Ducky and Palmer were playing a card game, which was unusual- lectures and telling of past occurrences was more of Ducky's style. Ducky looked up from his and Mr. Palmer's game and smiled when he saw his friend.

"Ah, Jethro," Ducky greeted him.

"Hey, Duck." Gibbs gave Palmer a look that told him to leave the room and Palmer caught on. He got up and left so Gibbs and Dr. Mallard could talk.

"Something on your mind, Jethro?" Ducky inquired.

"Yeah, Duck. I have three dirt bags that I need to drag into interrogation," he began and continued to explain what happened.

Ducky shook his head and offered a clever idea. "Do you know what prisoner's dilemma is Jethro?"

"I've heard of it, Duck. What about it?"

"Well, bring them in, place them in three separate rooms and tell each of them that the other has sold them out. Using the dominant strategy best for the person, they'll sell the other out and you'll have plenty of information assuming it works perfectly. It's worth a shot especially since there is corroborating evidence, right?" Ducky went on.

Gibbs nodded and thanked Ducky before heading to the lab to see what Abby had for him.

Strolling into the lab, Gibbs' ears were met with loud music. He walked up behind Abby and tapped her shoulder. She turned around and turned off the music as she smiled and greeted him.

"What have ya got for me, Abbs?"

"Okay, well, I do have the partials and names I told you about, but I found something on the first C-4 casing that you'll want to see," Abby stated as she started on the keyboard. She brought the picture up onto the big screen. Walking over to point it out, she explained. "Okay, so in the corner of this piece is an alphabet letter."

"It's a 'D'," Gibbs said plainly. He was hoping there was more.

"Well, there are three other letters, but they're only parts of the letter since the casing went boom," Abby said as she nodded. "I've narrowed the other letters down to a few possibilities." She also brought those onto the big screen.

"Well one of them could be an 'A', 'W', or 'X'. Another could be 'E' or 'F'," Gibbs paused as he stared at the third one. "And the last one could be a 'B', 'D', 'G', 'O', 'P', 'Q', 'R', 'S' or 'U'." He immediately paused since he figured it out. Abby was mumbling the possibilities.

Without a word Gibbs walked out of the lab as Abby was still trying to figure it out.

"This is a tough one, Gibbs," she said, not even taking notice that the man left. She pondered a little more before coming to one conclusion. "I think I got it!" she yelled as she turned to find herself alone. She pouted a little, but she frowned when she stated the word out loud. "Dead."

* * *

Ziva walked up and down the hallway as she waited for the bell to ring. It was only nearing the end of the third class of the day for the high school. She was miserable from having to follow the kid around and essentially do nothing for the time being. Watching the kid didn't really count as work in her book. She wanted action and she was the one missing out on it, but the recent action has resulted in injuries, so it was best to avoid it all.

Jonathan walked out of class with all of his stuff and a slip. "Come on, I have to go to the principal's office," he said in a sour mood.

"Why do you have to go there?" she asked him as she followed.

"I don't know this time. I did my homework and I didn't cut up in class this time. I'll be surprised for once in my life."

"Cut up? What is cut up?" Ziva asked him, confised by the American slang.

"It's like goofing off or sort of like the class clown concept- making kids laugh all the time, not being serious," he explained.

"Oh," she nodded.

As soon as they walked into the main office, both were escorted into the principal's office and they took a seat. Only a couple of minutes passed when the man in charge walked into his office and seated himself.

"Good morning, Jonathan, and," he paused since he wasn't acquainted with his detail protection.

"Officer Ziva David, NCIS," she said as she shook his hand. "I'm his detail protection."

The principal nodded as he leaned back in his chair. "Well, I do have my answer now."

"Is that why you called me in here, Mr. Stein, to ask me who she is?"

He nodded. "Sorry, you may go to fourth period now. The bell is going to ring in a minute."

Jonathan and Ziva exited the office and headed for his world history class. They would be discussing World War I today.

* * *

McGee stood in the hall bored as he waited for Alice and Drew to walk out of their classes. He looked at his watched and looked around. The sounding of the bell signed for all students to move and McGee spotted both of them coming in his direction. The boy seemed bored, but the girl was still hyper- that made McGee smile.

He led her to her next class as he kept a watchful eye on the boy. He was with a group of friends, so he didn't get too close- he didn't want to embarrass the kid.

Kokoro and her father sat at the table as Lilianne served breakfast. They both gave her their thanks before they began to eat. She momentarily joined them and they talked as they enjoyed an American breakfast.

"Sabina, dear, don't you have class today?" Lilianne asked Kokoro.

"Mmhm, but it's not until four o'clock. Today's the late day," she finished as she put a forkful of scrambled eggs into her mouth. She chewed and something hit her- something obvious. "Dad, why aren't you at work?"

He cleared his throat before speaking. "My boss does not want me back until this is solved. He feels that I am safer at home than I am at work. I do not agree, but I will not argue with him." He sipped his orange juice.

"Hm, guess this is going to be a boring day, huh?' Kokoro stated. "Can't go anywhere 'cause there's no detail here… What to do…" she said as she took another forkful of eggs into her mouth.

* * *

"Hey, this deck has got to be rigged! You can't possibly win every single time," Tony said disgusted as he lost another hand at poker.

"Quit whining, Tony. I'll tell you my secret," Kanon said as she smirked at him. He leaned forward and waited for an answer. "I'm part Russian and my boyfriend's parents are from the former USSR. Take a guess."

Tony's enthusiasm slipped away and was replaced by a worried expression. "Ooo…" he said in a bit of a nasally. "That does sound good."

Kanon just smiled and shuffled the deck.

"You're flirting with me, aren't you?" Tony said suddenly. He flashed his pearly whites as way to take the edge off the question.

Kanon stopped shuffling and looked at him. All she could do was laugh at him and his question. "I believe you are flirting with me, DiNozzo."

She continued to shuffle and laugh a little.


	9. One Down

Make the Grade

Chapter Eight

**One Down**

* * *

At six thirty in the evening, the twins walked out of their separate classes and rendezvoused with Special Agent Gibbs down the hall. DiNozzo was at the girls' house watching the parents since he was still recovering. Walking out of the building, they headed for their dorm room to grab a few things in order to work on their newly assigned homework.

They were on their way back home now. The one and only class they had for the day ended and it left them to the mundane routine of homework. Short homework, but nonetheless homework. Kokoro worked on hers in the car while Kanon zoned out a few times. Her moments were disturbed by Kokoro's aggressive typing- she was getting annoyed at her medical encyclopedia.

Upon arrival, dinner was ready. They sat around the table just as they had before and ate a pleasant meal before Tony and Kanon were moved to another undisclosed location provided by Gibbs. Gibbs briefly explained it to her parents and the father understood better than the mother, who was about to be a nervous wreck. She was extremely concerned for her daughter's safety and two bombs made her incredibly nervous.

While the explanation took place, Kanon packed an overnight bag with a few extras. She wasn't sure how things were going to play out, so she figured it would probably be for the best if she had extras of clothes. That last explosion made her sleeping shirt permanently coal colored in certain areas. Never did she care for the Dalmatian pattern.

Saying good night to everyone, she and Tony left, with Gibbs, to the mysterious location- at the time, anyway. A few minutes from the area, Tony guessed correctly- Gibbs' house. They stepped in and Gibbs gave Tony specific directions, very specific directions. Kanon had a few rules about respecting the house and things of the sort- staying out of the basement was one of them, but there was an exception to that one- only for emergencies. She figured she would know when an emergency occurred. Other than that, he told her just to relax and act like it was her house or dorm, whichever she preferred. Without much else to announce, Gibbs left.

"Where do you think he's going, Tony?" Kanon asked.

"I'm not too sure. Been out of the loop for the last few hours, but my guess would be to get the bastards who blew up my apartment."

Kanon made the 'ah' shape with her mouth and proceeded to pull her laptop out of her bag. She had a few things to do before showering and trying to get some sleep for the mid-morning classes tomorrow.

"What'cha workin' on, blondie?" DiNozzo asked as he looked over her shoulder.

"Homework for my international politics class. Afghanistan is the topic- fun, fun," she said mock enthusiastically. She feigned a smile at him and continued on her work- only three more sections.

"Fun, fun," he said as he took a seat next to her and turned on the TV. HE channel surfed for a few minutes before he shut off the TV. Nothing that interested him was on. Kanon saved her file and shut off her laptop. Standing and sighing, she grabbed her clothes bag and walked into the bathroom.

* * *

In the interrogation room, Gibbs sat across from Malachi Wright. He was holding in the anger and holding back the urge to reach across the table and slap the man around a few times.

He had him in for pulling a gun at a Petty Officer- named Makoto Koizumi. He hadn't used any other evidence… yet. Gibbs stared him down- if the Gibbs' look could kill. His suspect sighed and pulled off his shades.

"What do you want with me, Gibbs?" Wright asked him roughly. The man knew why he was there, but he was trying to pull a deal with the Special Agent in order to save his sorry ass.

"You know," he replied calmly, his hands still on the table, one on top of the file folder.

"What do I have to tell you to get out of here?"

"The truth."

* * *

Tony walked out of the bathroom and back to his place on the couch. Trying the TV again, he finally found something entertaining- THS. Mega gossip and bikini clad models and celebrities had captured his eyes. He was enjoying it all and giving all his attention to the box until something hit his shoulder- Kanon's head.

She was out for the night, it seemed. Her laptop was on and still on her legs, so he saved the open file and shut it down. Placing it on the table first, he shook her to see if she would wake. It was a failed attempt.

He picked her up and carried her to the spare bedroom that Gibbs said she could sleep in. He used one arm to hold her and the other to pull the blankets back. Placing her on the bed and tucking her in, he smiled at the sight of the sleeping young adult.

* * *

"IF that information checks out, then you'll have probation and a restraining order at a minimum," Gibbs said as he got up and proceeded to walk out of the interrogation room.

"Hey," Wright yelled, which stopped Gibbs, "what do I do?"

Gibbs smiled and motioned for him to follow him. As soon as Wright cleared the threshold, Gibbs cuffed him and led him elsewhere. "You get to spend the night in lock-up, dirt bag."

As he walked down the hall, Gibbs' cell phone rang. He answered it and it was not the news he needed to hear. He rushed Wright into lock-up and hauled tail out of the NCIS building.


	10. Unhappy Twentyfirst

Make the Grade

Chapter Nine

**Unhappy Twenty-first**

* * *

At the Koizumi residence, Ziva and McGee stood their ground with the two intruders in the backyard. They were locked with the opposition, but they also had to worry about the family inside and the surprise that got their attention in the first place- a gunshot.

Ziva stepped closer to McGee and began whispering instructions into his ear. With a few seconds of hesitation, McGee dropped his weapon and tailed it into the house, locking the door and closing the blinds just as Ziva told him.

_'Gibbs is going to kill me for leaving Ziva alone,'_ Tim thought to himself as he rushed over to the gunshot-wounded victim, the father. Petty Officer Koizumi was struggling to breathe and McGee had no clue what to do other than apply pressure and pray that he can somehow get the man medical attention without tipping off the two outside.

McGee thought fast and somewhat irrationally since he was starting to panic. The enlisted man's heartbeat was slowing down. Calling the petty officer's wife over, he gave her specific instructions when dialing 911 in order to make sure the paramedics and local LEOs got here quickly and quietly. She followed even though she was trembling terribly and tears were spilling over.

Kokoro kept her younger siblings upstairs in her room so they were out of the way and so they couldn't see what could happen in the backyard. Still attempting to answer questions about the single gun shot, Kokoro held onto her sister and walked around trying to make sure her brothers were where they should be- in the room and not in her walking space. Her pacing kept her calm and collected so she would be able to handle the situation.

Jonathan looked up and asked a question that wasn't related to their previous topic. "Sabina, does Sasha know?"

That stopped Kokoro in her tracks, but she still held onto Alice. She didn't even think about that. "Oh my, no she does not." Kokoro shifted Alice into one arm while she got her cell out of her pocket. She pushed number two and held it until it dialed out.

* * *

Slowly coming out of a mild slumber, Kanon heard her phone ring. Her head was still in the pillow, so she reached around for her phone. It stopped ringing, but she hadn't reached it yet. Someone else grabbed it since she could hear a voice rather clearly and one vague- the one that called. She rolled onto her side and looked up. Tony had answered the phone for her and it didn't bother her. She wasn't fond of people picking up her phone, but she was just too tired to really care.

Tony nodded and hung up. He sat on the edge of the bed and looked at the sleepy blonde. He prepped himself for the information he was about to tell her even though it wasn't much. He was thinking about the best and worst case scenarios and he wasn't sure how she was going to handle it.

"Uh," Tony lamely began, "Kanon, that was your sister and," Tony continued still stumbling a little on the potentially touchy topic. "Something happened at your house. I'm not sure what 'cause she doesn't know, but I'll try to get an update from Probalicious in a little bit."

Kanon rubbed her eyes and shook her head a few times before finally waking up. "What exactly happened, Tony?"

"Well, I just know a gun shot was fired, so I imagine there are unwanted visitors there. It was just like the movie…" Tony continued, but Kanon had been midly shaken up by that really vague bit of information.

She grabbed her phone as Tony continued with his movie and real life analysis. Holding down two, it dialed to her sister's phone.

Kokoro flipped open the phone and began rambling about what just happened in Japanese. Kanon followed suit, which knocked Tony out of his monologue. All he heard was a bunch of non-English words flying around him and he immediately took his phone out of his pocket and dialed McGee's number.

Frustrated that he failed, McGee answered his phone with annoyance obvious in his voice. "McGee," he said as he back away from the deceased.

"Probie, what's going on over there?"

McGee sighed and explained everything from the first gun shot to the last. While doing so, Ziva walked in with a somewhat satisfied face until she saw the dead petty officer. She lost all satisfaction at that point- stoicism replaced the former expression and she walked over to McGee and grabbed his phone.

"Tony, we do not know how the two bypassed the cameras, but they are dead," she took as pause. "As is the petty officer. You may want to tell the girl first before everyone else finds out."

"Yeah," Tony replied since that was all that he could get out at the moment. It wasn't an easy job telling someone that a loved one had died, but he could usually walk away from the person. He couldn't do that this time- he would have to sit through her reaction, and he had a feeling there would be many tears. Too many; more than he might be able to handle at the moment.

He reached out and closed her phone. He wore a sad expression as she looked over at him with a slightly perturbed look.

"Tony?" she asked him an unspoken question. She knew something happened, but she wasn't sure. Random worst cases ran through her mind and she immediately sat up and looked him in the eye. "What happened? Tell me, please."

"Your dad is…" That's when he froze at the realization that he couldn't walk away from what was about to happen.

"My dad is what, DiNozzo?" she inquired forcefully.

He looked down and that confirmed her most horrible thought. Her hands began to shake violently and soon she was crying uncontrollably. At random, she asked Tony a question. "I-is it Fuh-Friday?"

Slightly confused, he looked at her. Her entire form quivered and the bed sheets in front her were damp with tears. She was a mess and now she wanted to know what today was. "Yes," he simply replied, which set off another reaction that he wasn't expecting. She bolted up and ran out of the room. Her destination was the toilet in the bathroom- she was going to be sick.

Tony followed her and held her hair back as she emptied her stomach contents. When she finished, Tony handed her a small cup of water so she could wash her mouth out. After flushing the vile substance away, Kanon cried more.

It was killing Tony just watching her suffer. He wasn't sure where the question came from, but that wasn't important right now. Pulling her closer to him, he held her tightly and he rubbed small circles into the small of her back. Her forehead rested on his shoulder, which allowed many of her tears to fall onto his leg.

* * *

Gibbs, Ducky and Palmer arrived at the house. By then, everyone there was hysterical or stoic. Trying his best to remain calm, Gibbs pulled his agents aside.

"What exactly went on over here?" he sternly asked them.

Ziva explained the breach in security and the 'lucky' shot at the petty officer. She didn't know the two men and neither did McGee. After listening to the tragic story, Gibbs turned to McGee.

"You waiting for me to announce you, McGee?"

"No, uh, well," McGee stuttered as he gave Gibbs some information about the experience and some about the two now dead threats. "They had ID on them, and I ran it just to make sure. One was a Sebastian Brown and the other was a Riley Kingston."

Saying nothing, Gibbs walked past his two agents and went to see the grieving mother of technically three, but he felt it would be five after this. She was still staring at her husband even as Ducky conducted preliminary findings. Ducky and Palmer bagged the body and left the room. Before exiting, Ducky confirmed that he was indeed murdered by a single gunshot wound. He lost too much blood. Ducky had guess it hit the aorta, but he wouldn't he absolutely sure until he got back to autopsy.

Gibbs walked up to the potentially unstable mother and gave her his sympathies.

"Do the children know?"

She shook her head indicating no. He also asked if he could go up and break the news to the kids. She agreed and led him to the room upstairs. When the door opened, four curious sets of worried eyes looked at him.

* * *

When she calmed down and stopped throwing up, Kanon was quiet. She appreciated Tony comforting her, but at the moment, nothing was going to quell her.

Both of them heard the door to the house open and close.

"DiNozzo!" Gibbs yelled rather loudly and it echoed throughout the house.

Tony carried Kanon back to the spare room before heading into the living room to see Gibbs.

"Yeah, Boss," Tony said, but with less than his usual amount of enthusiasm.

"Is she okay?" Gibbs asked, sincerity shining in his eyes.

"About as okay as she's going to be for the time being," Tony answered. "I'm not sure what else is wrong with her, but she had an emptying out stomach contents session."

Gibbs pulled out a purple envelope from his coat pocket. "This is the other thing, DiNozzo." Gibbs walked into the spare room with Tony on his six. He approached quietly and gave her the envelope. She looked at it before opening it up.

She held a bright colored card- lime green and hot pink. It was a birthday card for her twenty-first, which was now. She gave a light smile as she opened it and saw a picture of her sister, her dad and herself. There was another one of her father and her biological mother. Setting the pictures off to the side, she read the brief message and her smile slightly grew.

_I'll take you and your sister out tomorrow to celebrate._

_With much love._

_'That's very like him,'_ Kanon thought to herself.

"Thank you, Agent Gibbs."

* * *

**Author's Note:** Okay, so, I'm slowly running out of options. I have some ideas, but reviews would help me out A LOT. Please, review. Please. If I could momentarily steal he famous DiNozzo smile and use it, I would; however, I can't (and I'm not going to try and butcher it), so that's where you, the fans, come into play. :D


	11. A New Divide

Make the Grade

Chapter Ten

**A New Divide**

* * *

Much later that morning, around six, Kanon woke up rolled over and into Tony, who had pretty much taken up the entire bed. She sat up and returned to the edge where she originally was. While stretching, her cell phone vibrated and flashed, letting her know there was an incoming call. She frowned in the general direction of the phone and contemplated not picking it up. Deciding against her first thought, she answered it.

"Hello," she said in a low volume, sleepy voice.

"I wanna know where you at!" her boyfriend stated forcefully.

"I don't care what you want to know, Mykola. I'm tired and I don't want to talk to you." She sighed in discontentment. It was getting old- his newly found possessive habits.

"You listen to me," he started out, but she didn't hear the rest of his rant since she hung up on him and turned her phone off. Leaning back, she grabbed a pillow and put it over her face as she groaned. Today started off suckish and more suckish stuff was happening. Maybe the end of the day would end up being decent. Maybe.

Tony mumbled and rolled over, pushing Kanon a little too much, resulting her sitting on the floor. Frustrated, she took the pillow and hit Tony with it, causing him to bolt up and look around. Without saying anything, she got up and left the room to go wash her face and brush her teeth. As she walked out, Gibbs walked in.

"DiNozzo," he started off, his voice on the silent side. He walked up to him and slapped him on the back of the head. "Get ready for work."

* * *

The three of them headed over to the bullpen. Gibbs did a couple of things on his computer before heading down to lock-up. Tony was playing some unauthorized game on his computer while Kanon was texting faster than cars at the Indy 500. Tony looked over a few times worried that her mad typing skills were going to do some kind of unnatural damage.

"Think you can go any faster, Speedy Gon-Blondie?"

"I can if it makes you feel better, Tony," she said in a slightly annoyed voice.

He had no clue who she was texting or what it was about. In the process of being distracted, Tony lost his last life and 'game over' came across the screen as Gibbs walked back into the room.

"DiNozzo, interrogation waiting room. Now."

Tony exited out of all the screens and stood up. He grabbed Kanon in the process and led her to his destination. Both of them stared at an empty room until a disgruntled and unkempt suspect was seated. Gibbs walked in shortly, with a folder in hand, and took a seat across from him.

Kanon was oblivious to the entire interrogation process since her mind and concentration were all focused on her text conversation between Mykola and herself. A few minutes later, her dangerously fast texting ceased and she put her phone in her pocket. Tony looked over and motioned for her to look at a Gibbs' styled interrogation. For the most part, the more violent scenes were over with- it was down to breaking the last piece of his suspect and getting his information.

After a few moments of silence, Malachi Wright spilled what he knew. He was the man on the end of the chain- the messenger and person on the need-to-know basis. He pulled out two folded pieces of paper from his coat pocket and handed them to Gibbs.

"This is what I was supposed to do after helping off the PO," Wright stated.

Gibbs folded them open and read them. Both disturbed him greatly and he leaned over to look the devastated man in the eyes.

"What were you supposed to do after this?" Gibbs asked him sternly.

"Report to Kingston and Brown," he stuttered.

"And then what?" Gibbs kept probing for his answer that was bigger than these three dirt bags.

"Report to the boss who was supposed to give us our new target. I don't know who it is, I swear. Kingston and Brown are already back at headquarters and they're waitin for me."

"Who. Is. Your. Boss. Wright?"

Wright looked up at Gibbs in shock. He was truly surprised that the man didn't know. "Your senior field agent didn't tell you that we work for his dad?"

Gibbs leaned back and turned to stare at the window behind him. His piercing blue eyes stared directly into Tony's shining green ones that now went dull.


	12. Close

Make the Grade

Chapter Eleven

**Close**

* * *

Within a few seconds, Tony bolted out of the watch room and Kanon followed a few seconds later since she was supposed to be under his watch. Tony beat her to the elevator and successfully had the doors shut. He flipped the switch and stopped it. Walking into the corner, he slid down and sat on the floor, elbows on his knees and his face buried into his hands.

Kanon pushed the button on the elevator multiple times yet it was unsuccessful. "Damn it, DiNozzo," she cursed lightly. She took the stairs and ran up them as quick as she could. When she reached the bull pen, she looked around and slowed her pace significantly. There was only one person there and he was at Tony's desk, sitting in his chair, waiting. She walked over as stared at him. It was a bit inappropriate, but there was something familiar about the man that sat at Tony's desk.

"Uh, sorry, but may I help you?" Kanon asked him.

Dressed in a wholesome jet black suit with absolutely no obvious flaws, he stood up- his presence was worrisome due to the mysterious nature of his visit and his stature. He was tall, dark and handsome, but not in the good way. He seemed to be a character that would charm you with a smile and smooth talk and later have his way with you. He had an essence of Tony, but Tony wasn't creepy- he was gentle and kind. This guy was hiding something.

"If you would give this to Anthony DiNozzo," he stated lightly but with a deep, somewhat booming voice. He held out an envelope- no address or attention listed. She took it and before she was able to retract her hand, the unknown man held onto the ends on her fingers. He lightly kissed her hand and smiled. With that, the elevator dinged and it echoed through the entire bullpen. Kanon turned around quickly and the man walked toward the opening elevator. Tony walked out and turned to face the broken apart scene. He froze as he saw the man he knew well leaving. His face drained of any color and he didn't move an inch. It was hard to tell if Tony was even breathing.

The man leaving just smirked at Tony. He held up only one finger as the elevator doors closed.

Fear, worry and loss of luster described Tony's eyes best. Leaning against the wall, Tony slid down it again except he looked up at the ceiling. Kanon approached him slowly and sat next to him.

"I don't suppose you want this?" she asked him as she held the envelope out to him.

He looked at it for a few seconds before realizing what it was and how she got it. He bolted up and took her with him and he walked to the elevator quickly. He was on his way down to Abby's lab to make sure that the envelope in Kanon's hand wasn't contaminated with… something, anything bad.

* * *

In a rundown, dirty neighborhood- typically where gangs gather and hidden crime is at its high- the 'resurrected KGB' walked into their usual building for business. Taking a seat wherever, their talk began.

"What d'ya got, Tai?" Mykola asked him.

Tai, generally a mild mannered guy, did not stray from his usual tone. He gave out his report- the one he didn't want to do since it could potentially get his girlfriend and his best friend into trouble. He knew Kokoro and Kanon since high school and his retrieving info from Kokoro on Kanon to give to Mykola was putting him in a tight situation.

"That it? After all that time, that's it?" Mykola asked as he demanded more.

"Yeah, dude, kinda. The guy she's been around is her detail and Kokoro hasn't been around her since that explosion. She don't know nothing," he said in a moderately annoyed tone. He didn't appreciate the criticism that subtly said he was screwing things up.

Tai's phone double beeped and an envelope appeared on the front- new message.

"What's it say, Kuang?" asked one of the other members who happened to be Mykola's cousin.

He read it aloud as soon as he opened it. _"Hey, we're supposed to be going out Saturday night. Somewhere in G-town. Don't know where yet. Let you know more later."_

Mykola chuckled and nodded. "I got a plan, boys. We're gonna shake those details Saturday night."

* * *

After giving Tony the clear to open the envelope, Abby smiled slightly as he took it into the other room.

"What do you think he is going to do with it?" Kanon asked.

Abby thought about it. "Well, Tony is going to be very conflicted about it. Let's see what he does."

The two women watched as Tony stared at the paper in his hand. Indeed he was conflicted. Abby didn't read it, she said, as she scanned it. He scrutinized the white, thin sheet. Holding it up to the light to see through it, he was shocked- it wasn't something he expected.

When the forensic scientist and Blondie got a glimpse of his expression, they were worried. Whatever was written in it, it was not good- they didn't know for who, but overall it wasn't good.

"Oh, I have something for Gibbs," Abby stated and as if on cue, Gibbs walked into her lab.

"What have ya got for me, Abbs?" he asked her. He stopped behind the two women and stared at what they were looking at- Tony's expression.

"The planned targets are Tony and you," Gibbs said as he pointed his index finger at Kanon.

Kanon looked up at him and back to Tony. Now she was worried- deeply, truly worried. That's when that unknown man entered her thoughts again.

"Agent Gibbs," she began as she still stared at Tony, "earlier, when Tony bolted out of the watch room, there was someone who held a rather striking resemblance to him in the bull pen. It was his father, yes?"

Gibbs sighed and walked into the conjoining room to lead Tony out. She followed as they left the room. Once the trio was in the elevator, he answered her question.

"Yeah, it was."


	13. Watchful Eyes

Make the Grade

Chapter Twelve

**Watchful Eyes**

* * *

Saturday afternoon was a relatively pleasant day- nice lunch, quiet household (mainly because the younger children were busy) and everyone in the same house. The back doors were already fixed from the incident and everything had been cleaned up since everything necessary to the investigation had been bagged and tagged.

Jonathan, Drew and Alice were upstairs playing video games and homework, alternating between the two. Kanon and Kokoro were downstairs keeping Lilianne company as NCIS did some brainstorming and researching.

McGee was coordinating with Abby via laptop. She was researching everything she had and everything McGee was giving her. Multiple windows were popping up on her computer in the lab and she was swiftly going through each one of them, finding most of them not useful or pertinent. A few windows stuck out and Abby pulled some information from them, but she did not tell McGee or Gibbs about it on the spot. At first, it had to be a mistake, but you don't question forensics (especially forensics) or Navy files that corroborated with the forensics. She left those aside for the moment and went in search for more information to back up what she found, the horrible, horrible information she found.

Ziva, Tony, and Gibbs were going over a stricter security plan now that they knew Tony's dad, the current rat bastard, was behind this. Tony's job was to still watch the twins, but he was also supposed to be watched for his and their safety. A minor switch occurred in order to try to set things straight with their detail: Ziva would watch the mother and youngest girl; McGee would take the brothers; Tony would watch the twins and Gibbs would watch Tony and everything else that he could. Tony's attempt to protest was greet by a deadly stare from Gibbs. He didn't bother saying anything after that.

Lilianne talked to her step-daughters as this continued. She felt incredibly bad that their birthday was filled with sorrow. She wanted to make it up to them, but she wasn't exactly a big part of their life- she wasn't sure what to do. Taking them out to dinner had crossed her mind, but she wasn't sure how that would go over with the detail.

"Agent Gibbs," she addressed the supervisory field agent, "would it be okay if I took them out to dinner tonight?" she asked as she pointed to her step-daughters.

Gibbs looked at them and looked at his team. Pondering the request, he was interrupted by McGee who motioned for him to come over- Abby had divulged the information that she found that significantly worried her.

On the screen were the step-mother and the half-siblings to the twins. Or so it seemed until that point. The pictures were identical and the finger prints matched, but the last names on the four were not Koizumi- they were Camden, the mother's maiden name, for the children, at least. The mother's legal name stood as Lilianne Grace Camden-DiNozzo.

The four field agents looked at the screen, then the three standing looked at McGee. Wondering why he was the center of attention, he looked to Tony and the other two followed suit. He didn't know about this at all- all he knew was his father remarried often. More appalled than the others, Tony just stared at the screen.

DiNozzo was about to offer an obvious explanation, but Gibbs cut him off and gave the mother an answer.

"In light of what we just discovered, it's best for your and your daughters' safety that you three don't go out- at least, not together," Gibbs stated.

"At least let them go out," she begged. "They deserve to have a nice day."

Kanon and Kokoro looked at her in a worried manner and looked back to the team in a similar expression. For them, it was uncommon for their mom to be that assertive with something she wanted for others.

"We have a plan set up already, ma'am," McGee interjected, which earned a look from Gibbs.

* * *

At half past six, both girls came downstairs- they were dressed in a very cute manner: both had on skinny jeans, Kanon wore a dark wash while her sister wore a light one; Kokoro's off-the-shoulder cotton-blend blouse was a deep purple with white lace while her sister wore an asymmetrical, one-shoulder white blouse with electric blue lace that edged the bottom hem. Being a little less than five and a half feet had its perks and disappointments, but heels were on the positive side. Both of them sported stiletto styled heels that were three inches in height- one being white and the other electric blue- to match the lace. Plastic jewelry adorned one's neck and ears while the other had it only on one wrist. Both wore their hair straight, but Kokoro's was side-parted and down while her sister's was also side-parted but it was tied back into a side ponytail and draped over the one shoulder with fabric. The only thing that matched with them was a black clutch.

Tony saw all of this and took it in. Mesmerized by the sight, it took a slap to the back of the head to get him to rejoin the world as it was now- not when they came down the stairs.

"Hey, DiNozzo," Gibbs stated as his senior field agent came around.

"Won't happen again, boss," he said as he stood and smiled.

Before anyone left, Gibbs gave David and McGee specific instructions on watching the mother and kids, but especially the mother. All the phone calls would be listened in on and no one was leaving or entering the house until Gibbs returned. That was final.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Okay, so I have a plan for this story and it's going to go over very smoothly- that's the goal anyway. Please provide some feedback, maybe there will be a better idea or something else I can incorporate into the story. :D


	14. Try to Dance the Night Away

Make the Grade

Chapter Thirteen

**Try to Dance the Night Away**

* * *

At the dimly lit Italian restaurant, the four sat at a round table near a corner to avoid a lot of unwanted attention. Tony sat across from Gibbs and Kokoro across from Kanon- an even divide- female, male, female, male circle.

The waiters and waitresses spoke poor English, for the most part, so Tony did a lot of the talking- mainly the greeting and the small talk. Everyone was able to order on their own. The group's waiter, who introduced himself as Donato, set a complimentary appetizer on the table and refilled the waters before he left the table to continue with what they were doing.

Kokoro stared at the small plate that had colorful bread-like substances stacked upon each other. There were many small, intricate details that made it captivating, amusing. "What exactly is it?" she asked to no one particular.

"It's just colored bread and garlic-oil with stuff in it," Tony said.

The background noise was minimal- music overwhelmed the room and it was quite relaxing. Beautiful strings slid into the ears of unsuspecting customers and lulled them into a calm state.

"It's beautiful music, isn't it?" Tony asked trying to shake the silence of the table.

"Bellissima, si, signore?" Kokoro 'replied' to Tony. She wanted to see how far she could push the buttons with repeating everything he said in Italian, even though she knew it would hardly last. It had been a while since high school foreign language, but her goal was to go more than a minute- even if the language was a bit off.

"Hey, you speak Italian?" Tony was a bit baffled.

"DiNozzo," Gibbs spoke up, "foreign language is still a part of the secondary education system. I don't think they have Russian or Japanese in most schools."

"Right, boss," Tony said with a nod. He took a sip of his water and stared at Kokoro. "How many years of Italian, kid?"

"Due," Kanon said. She wanted in on the fun and was going to try to double the length of conversation.

Tony chuckled and flashed his famous smile. He was up for the challenge, even if it was two against one. It lasted a grand total of three minutes when Tony asked them something that they had no clue how to reply to- do either of you dance, if so what?- was the gist of it. They just smiled- it had been a 'good fight' so to speak.

"Yeah, we dance. Lessons helped with that," Kanon told him. "You name it and we can more-than-likely do it."

"I doubt that you can do it all," Tony said, not actually insinuating a challenge of the sort, but it came across as one to the girls.

"Rumba, salsa, samba, swing, sirtaki, Macedonian sousta, tango, tap, trepak, trata, troika, tumba, twist, two step, waltz, bolero, buyo, cakewalk, carinosa, kamarinskaya, kazachok, khorovod, mambo, and a lot more," Kokoro stated proudly.

Tony hung his head and Gibbs let a small smile show on his face for a few seconds. It disappeared when the food arrived- agnolotti, tortellini alla panna, classic lasagna and risotto con gamberetti. There wasn't much conversation with food present, but there were a few words exchanged. With the table cleared and a group desert ordered, tiramisu with vodka and espresso soaked ladyfingers, Tony asked the girls for a dance. Kokoro declined; her excuse being she wasn't a big fan of dancing anymore. Something about lessons making it miserable since the teacher was a Nazi. Kanon happily accepted and Tony led her out to the dance floor that was off center in the restaurant. It was placed on the far backside nearest the opened doors that gave the people a lovely view of Georgetown.

"I don't know all of your fancy dances, kid," he said as he stopped short of the floor.

"Tell you what- you lead with what you know and I will follow. I'm sure I will know what you're doing."

Still somewhat unnerved, Tony stepped up to the dance floor and began with basic ballroom dancing as he and she blending in with the large crowd. The music was slow and calming, so it was appropriate.

"I'm disappointed, Tony," Kanon stated. "Basic ballroom dancing? Is that all you have in that arsenal other than your thousand watt smile?"

"You don't even know," he said with a playful smile. "It's appropriate for the music."

"Mmhm," Kanon lightly stated. She had a certain tone about it that heavily hinted at Tony's lack of another answer with more substance. "But, I will say that it's nice that you don't trip over your own two feet."

"Play nice. Don't make fun of your sister."

"I'm not. I was referring to my boyfriend with two right feet."

"Two left feet."

"Does it make a difference?"

"It's just how the saying goes."

"Okay."

* * *

Kokoro and Gibbs had a brief conversation about the case. He really hadn't questioned either one of them for what they knew, so he tried to see what she knew. He would get to the other one later.

"Anything change recently? Behavior, routine?" Gibbs asked her.

"Not with me or Kanon. We're not home enough to notice that, but Lilianne was rather assertive today with persisting that we go out. She's incredibly passive and doesn't insist. That was a shock."

"You know why?"

"Not that faintest idea."

"Is it possibly or plausible that she wants to do something without your or your sister's knowledge."

She thought about it for a few seconds. "I suppose so, but what it would be… I don't know."

"Do you know anything about her life before she married your father?"

Kokoro was about to answer, but stopped and looked at him. "Uh, they're not married as weird as that sounds- common law. I don't know why she took the surname, but she did."

"When did you meet her?" Gibbs asked, pondering over the new information. The forms stated married. He would get McGee to check on that.

"When Kanon and I moved to the US to live with our dad. All three siblings were born by then. At first, she was quite the mother chicken, but she lightened up when we started to ignore her."

Gibbs ignored the incorrect saying and continued. "Why did you come over here?"

Even though it didn't seem pertinent, she answered. "Our mother passed and we didn't know anyone who would take us into their household in Yekaterinburg. Most of her friends were like her- worked and went home to go out with friends to drink their problems away. She died of alcohol poisoning and two of her other friends passed shortly after to liver failure. Cirrhosis is a nasty thing, Special Agent Gibbs," she said plainly.

"Jethro."

She looked confused. "Uh, sorry?" she asked him, not quite sure what he meant.

"Call me Jethro."

"Oh, okay, Jethro."

No sooner than she said that, the waiter brought out the dessert. No sooner than he brought it out, Tony and Kanon returned from the dance floor. All four sat down and enjoyed the rest of dinner.


	15. The Imminent, Dreadful Truth

Make the Grade

Chapter Fourteen

**The Imminent, Dreadful Truth**

* * *

The four walked down the street to the nearest bar in respect to the restaurant. Tony and Gibbs had been there with the rest of the team a few times, so they were familiar with the place and the atmosphere. The grabbed a booth on the wall opposite the door just incase someone they didn't want around showed up. Tony had mentioned something about being followed to Gibbs, so they took the precaution.

A waitress went by each table and stopped as she came to theirs. She greeted them in a more friendly fashion than what she did with other customers- she'd seen the agents before. Tony and Gibbs got beer and bourbon respectively. When it came time for the girls to order, they just gave her a blank stare.

"Did y'all just turn the magic number?" she asked them sweetly.

They nodded and just smiled.

"Then you'll love a strawberry kiwi martini!" She walked away with the orders and suggestion that she threw out.

Gibbs watched the door as Tony made the girls laugh with some stories starring him at NCIS- all true, according to him. Gibbs smiled inwardly as he listened to Tony leave out the incredibly embarrassing parts about his personal life that Tim and Ziva spoke about or about the times he was a few steps behind and had one too many slaps on the backside of the head.

Kokoro's phone buzzed as the door to the bar opened. Two guys walked in and sat at the bar. She opened the message and tossed the phone across the table to her sister who read it. They stared at each other with a tinge of worry in their eyes. Tony took a chance to lean over and read the message.

"You shouldn't hide things like that," he said in a way that made them seem like five year old girls.

The door opened again and Tai walked in and went straight to the table, making it very obvious that it was his goal. Gibbs and Tony remained seated, but they were ready for whatever was going to happen, if it happened there. He stopped at the end of the table and held out a small, wrapped package.

"Take it," he said plainly.

"Why?" Tony asked, his eyes locked on the package.

"He won't shoot if he knows you have it." He left it on the table and walked out of the bar, leaving the four with more questions than answers.

"On ne izmenilsya nachinaya so srednej shkoly," Kanon said to Kokoro nonchalantly as the waitress came back with the drink orders. She waited until the girls took a sip and smiled, signaling that they did enjoy it.

"Hey, hey, a language that all of us can understand," Tony interjected.

"Learn Russian, DiNozzo. You're the only one who can't understand," Gibbs said taking a swig of bourbon.

Mumbling, Tony brought the bottle to his mouth and drank.

* * *

An hour later, they left the bar and walked across the way into a nearby park. It was dark, silent and comfortable. A few lights were on, providing light to the walkway. The last stop of the night made the twins sad- they would probably part after this, for the night anyway. Tomorrow was designed only for funeral preparations. That was another downside to the end of this night.

A phone rang once and quit. She knew what that meant- who was calling, why he was calling, quite possibly where he way. Though their guns were still holstered, they were fully aware of the person standing a few feet from them. He just cut through most of the park to intercept them.

"Paket," he said.

"Glock," Kanon said.

"Nyet. Paket, teper'," he stated, his voice becoming slightly harsh.

"Chto nakhoditsya v pakete?" Gibbs asked him. No one opened it and Kokoro still had it in her clutch, so he needed to know what it was before it exploded or they had to shoot him.

"Hichto, chto kasaetsya Vas, starika!"

"Mykola, what do you want? You're wasting everyone's time," Kanon said.

* * *

Ziva and McGee sat in the living room on opposite sides. McGee watched the side that was open to the kitchen and Ziva took the side that led to the stairs and hallway bathroom. The mother hadn't made much of a move since Gibbs, Tony and the girls left. She had watched some TV and cleaned a little.

"I hate waiting," Ziva mumbled.

Tim nodded in agreement, but didn't voice anything. He was begging for a phone to ring- any phone; even his would be great right now.

His wish was granted in that Lilianne's cell rang. He opened his laptop and began to trace the call.

* * *

"I'm gonna do you a favor and you're not givin me what I need. What's wrong with you?" Mykola yelled as he inched his way closer to the group. He was about a foot from them now.

"Maybe I don't want you to do anything. You ever think about that?" Kanon said midly, not seeing the reason to yell at close distance.

"You don't know it, but you need me, especially for that favor."

Bewildered, Kanon was about to loose it. She had no clue what he was talking about and it annoyed her tremendously.

"How about we start off with what the hell are you talking about, Mykola. That might help."

"Lilianne isn't your mother!"

Kokoro and Kanon both laughed at him.

"Took you this long to figure that out?" Kokoro asked him.

"You are on something, Mykola," Kanon said through her giggles.

* * *

McGee's trace lit up on his Internet map and the location was pinpointed and with a box that gave location and owner of the house. Shocked and many things running through his well educated and trained mind, he quickly motioned for Ziva to come over and look at it, to confirm what he saw. Both of them looked at each other and then to her, talking on her cell phone and smiling, laughing, even.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Ah hah hah, not. I wanted to leave everyone guess, even though it might be obvious at this point who is on the other end of Lilianne's phone. I hope not. I wanted to keep it covered up until the next chapter. And, for the russian, sorry, but I'll give you a fast translation of it since not all of it is clear and has context clues. First one was basically 'he hasn't changed since high school'. Then, 'package', 'no, package now', 'what is in the packet?', and 'not of your concern, old man'. Okay, so that should clear it up, and my Russian isn't perfect, so excuse it if something is incorrect.  
I should have the next chapter up in the morning after my wisdom tooth extraction or the next day when the pain lessens. :]


	16. Bury the Past

Make the Grade

Chapter Fifteen

**Bury the Past**

* * *

The trace box lit up brightly as Ziva and McGee stared the name on the screen- DiNozzo. And, it wasn't their Tony DiNozzo, either. The father of the illustrious very Special Agent was on the phone with his wife- she was pretending to be the wife of a Petty Officer, but why? Just to get revenge on him for putting away a few of DiNozzo's thugs? Possibly.

McGee sent the new found information to Abby via e-mail and in a beep she received it.

Ziva kept a close eye on her- just in case something hinky would happen, as Abby would put it.

* * *

In her lab, Abby ran through all of her evidence that wasn't very well hidden. Anyone who had the notion of looking it up would have found out about it. Thing is, no one had ever bothered to. With a smirk dancing around her lips, she went to work to connect all of the dots, leaving nothing unconnected or in the dark. Everything had to be explained. Everything had to be related to something. It was her goal- her mission- her everything, for the time being because no one messed with the suspects and most definitely no one messed with her favorite agents who were family to her. No one.

"Ms. Camden-DiNozzo, you're goin' down," Abby said to the screen as a picture of the women posing to be the girls' stepmother came up.

* * *

"She's not your mother 'cause she's his mother!" he yelled, pointing to DiNozzo as he spoke loudly.

Tony's smile was short lived; he didn't know what the kid was talking about. "She's not my mother," he replied bluntly. "I would know my own mother."

"Whatever the case, man. She's trying to kill them 'cause their old man put his thugs away. It's in the damn package."

Kokoro threw open her clutch and dropped it as soon she grabbed the package with both hands. She pulled at the sides until the top opened, and he was right. Everything in there was evidence. She sifted through pictures, statements, and other key items that did prove him right. Gibbs took it away from her and put it in his coat pocket. He would need that later. Now, he needed answers- fast.

"Where did you get all of this?" he inquired.

"That doesn't matter."

"It does. Now, where did you get this?" he asked, more sternly this time.

Mykola sighed and paced a small distance in frustration. Something was bugging him, holding him back from telling.

"What's the big deal? Just tell him where you got it," Kanon told him.

Mykola walked up to her, a mere couple of inches from her. As a reflex, the agents pulled their weapons out and aimed it at him.

"You wanna get me killed?"

Kanon, confused by his statement, shook her head, indicating 'no'.

As he opened his mouth to speak, a blast resonated through out the park, at least the part they were located. Gibbs and DiNozzo pushed everyone to the ground and stayed down for a few seconds. The shot rang through everyone's ears and a new sound penetrated the barrier- a car speeding away.

"Everyone okay?" Gibbs asked as he got up, but still remained relatively low since he wasn't sure what was going on and who shot.

Tony got up and helped Kokoro first before getting to Kanon. Kanon sat up, but Mykola didn't move much.

"Hey, get up," she said to him as she moved his arm off hers. He still lay in the same position. "You're not funny," she mumbled as she turned him over. She gasped as she saw the blood soaked shirt and puddle of where he was facedown. His eyes were wide open and his mouth was slightly open like he was about to say something. As seconds passed, he grew more ashen and colder. As standard procedure, Tony checked for a carotid pulse, but there was none. Gibbs called Ducky so they could move the body and possibly use it as evidence for another charge against their number one suspect.

* * *

"Oh, you've already finished it? Well, thank you. I'll have to talk to you another time- I need to finish a few more things before I go to bed. Well, good night," Lilianne ended her conversation and hung up the phone. She walked past the agents with a smile on her face as she made her way into the bathroom. Ziva and McGee watched her like a hawk until she closed and locked the door. All they could hear was running water now.

"We arrest her now, yes?" Ziva asked him.

"Not yet. That call was monitored, but we don't actually know what was going on," Tim began. He paused for a moment to think. "I'm gonna call Gibbs," he said as he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket, but Ziva had already dialed the call.

"Gibbs," said the voice on the other side of the line.

"Do we arrest her now?" Ziva asked him.

"Not yet, Ziva."

"Why?"

"I need more than a phone call to do that and hold her."

"Even if it is a phone call to her REAL husband and her thanking him for taking care of an annoying pest?"

"I know what the annoying pest is, Officer David, but the last thing I need is for her to walk away from all of this. You keep your eye on her at all times, do you understand?"

"Yes."

Gibbs hung up as Ducky and Palmer arrived on scene. Other than the usual greeting Ducky and Gibbs exchanged, not too much else was said. Palmer made one remark and that was the only spoken words out of his mouth the entire night since it earned a harsh look from the two agents and his mentor.

"Sorry," Palmer stated seriously, considering it would be the only thing that would keep him above the hot water.

"Bullet, Ducky?"

Doctor Mallard searched the body before Palmer pointed it out- it was lodged in the young man's left palm. "Here it is, Jethro," Ducky told him as he held up the hand that Mr. Palmer pointed to. "It's a rather small round."

"When you get back, make sure that gets to Abby," he stated very sternly. He wanted a match on anything that the DiNozzo bastard owned.

* * *

Sunday morning, the twins were at a funeral home discussing options for their father. They honored his wishes for cremation and being divided between the girls. They weren't keen on that, but they didn't interfere in the last request. They coordinated with their father's CO, who was helping with the viewing and funeral that would be about a week from tomorrow, give or take a few days depending on the outcome of the case. They picked all of the unimportant things- casket style and color, arrangement of the room, flowers and other coordinating objects. That morning was very bleak.

They walked into the waiting area and met with Tony and Gibbs. The CO had taken his leave already. Without an exchange of words, they left. No one needed to say anything as the four of them headed over to NCIS headquarters. The girls were left with DiNozzo in the bullpen as Gibbs went down to visit Ducky and Abby for vital information.

* * *

The doors opened for Gibbs as he entered autopsy.

"Ah, Jethro," began Ducky, in his usual manner, as well.

"What have ya got for me, Duck?"

"The shot was fatal. It penetrated his aorta and he bled to death. Poor lad… He's young, Jethro."

Gibbs nodded and looked the body over. "Anything else for me?"

"Not right now, Jethro. His death was rather simple- just a single gunshot wound to the aorta. Exsanguination was the cause of his death. Whoever did it seemed to know exactly what he or she wanted and how to do it."

"Thanks, Duck." With that he was off to Abby's lab to see what she had in store for him. Hopefully it was far from simple.

Walking in and right up to her, he looked over her should at the screen. "Put it on the big screen, Abbs."

"Yes, sir," she said she tapped a few keys.

"Abby, don't 'sir' me." He stared at all the connections to murders and missing people and weapons that were connected to DiNozzo and his wife Lilianne. "There a reason why the kid died?"

"He knew too much, Gibbs. He was a liability to them. Seriously, he knew so much that he could have blown their cover ten times over."

"How?"

"Well, all the information is in our system, but no one ever decided to connect the dots. He must have hacked in or knew someone who did or something like that."

Taking a look over the screen one more time, he thanked Abby and walked out.

"Go get 'em, Boss man."

* * *

Walking out of the elevator with phone in his hands and moving up to his ear, Gibbs waited for Ziva to answer her phone.

"Officer David," she announced herself. Her voice was low and hinted at her sleepiness.

"Get her, Ziva, and bring her into headquarters in one piece."

* * *

**Author's Note: **Well, it wasn't quite right after I got my teeth pulled, but it was close. No more pain, so I actually concentrated better on this cahpter. It's coming close to the end. There will be an epilogue. I don't know about a sequel. This doesn't seem very popular, so I might sto with just this one and maybe try a different approch with another story. Let me know what you think. R&R, please.


	17. What You Want To Hear

Make the Grade

Chapter Sixteen

**What You Want To Hear**

* * *

Lilianne Camden-DiNozzo sat in interrogation as Ziva and McGee watched from the viewing area. Gibbs, who was in the room with her, sitting across from her, stared her down. There hadn't been any talking yet- just a twenty minute staring period.

Slowing getting frustrated, Lilianne shifted in her seat and began to fidget.

"Agent Gibbs, I don't get why I'm here and my children are with protective services. I haven't done anything wrong."

Gibbs blinked fully for the first time in twenty minutes and briefly spoke. "We have evidence that says otherwise."

"I'm telling you that I didn't do anything wrong!"

Gibbs stood up and walked out of the room with the evidence in hand. He entered the room in which Ziva and McGee were in and looked at Ziva.

"She knows everything and I want to hear her confess. Can you do it without killing her?"

Ziva just smirked and left the room, entering into the other one and immediately sitting down. She brought nothing with her and she just smiled sweetly at the older woman.

"You told him I did nothing wrong, right?"

"Of course I did," Ziva lied. "It is just Gibbs and how he is."

The woman turned her head and stared at the liaison officer in shock. "He's always like that? How do you live with it- being bossed around and miserable?"

"It is something that you get used to after a while," Ziva admitted, playing into the role of being a women bossed around in a "man's field of work".

"No, it shouldn't be! You should tell him off. Just tell him where to put it…" she trailed off on her feminist rant as Ziva took a brief moment to turn and give the other two in the room a 'what is she talking about?' look.

When she finally stopped, she composed herself and brushed some of her locks out of the way of her face. She completely calmed down and took in a deep breath.

Deciding to pursue it further to find answers, Ziva brought up the recently ended rant.

"Put what where? I do not understand."

Without thinking and forgetting that her rights were waived by her consent, she blabbed- she explained how to kill a person through force, through poison, through hiring a hand. Ziva, though she wanted to reach across the table and slap her, just played along with the ignorant role of not knowing how to do that. She 'oh-ed' and 'oo-ed' and the sort. Being falsely amazed, she leaned close to the suspect and whispered something to her.

"Is this how you killed the Petty Officer, Mrs. Camden-DiNozzo?" she whispered with a hint of poison I her voice.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Okay, so I know it's super short, but the next few chapters will make up for that. I promise. I'm outlining the sequel called Sa Bete Noire Cachee (there are a couple of little marks above certain letters, but I'm too lazy) and it translates into Her Lurking Black Beast. = ]


	18. A Turn for the Best

Make the Grade

Chapter Seventeen

**A Turn for the Best**

* * *

"DiNozzo," called a man, toothpick in hand, from the upper level in front of the MTAC sign. Tony looked up to see the Director.

"Director?"

"When the FBI gets here, escort them down to interrogation," Vance told him.

DiNozzo looked between him and his detail that Gibbs had not let up on.

"I got them covered, DiNozzo."

With that, the elevators to the bullpen opened. Fornell and a team of Special Agents walked out and up to the Senior Field Agent. DiNozzo stood and motioned for all of them to follow him, no introductions necessary since he knew them all- and a little too well for that matter.

* * *

Opening the door to the room before interrogation, DiNozzo allowed Fornell to enter first.

"Tobias?" Gibbs asked as another way of asking why he was there.

"Warrant for her and Wright's arrest on murder and national security threat," Fornell said as he handed over two pieces of legal papers to Gibbs. He flipped through it and noticed it was for bomb making. The random explosions were tied to her and were meant to take out the kids one by one. He nodded and only then did Fornell give instructions to two of him men to grab the lady in the other room. The two others were already on Wright's tail.

Almost elegantly the men apprehended Lilianne and reread her rights to her since a new charge was tacked on. Ziva just leaned back in her chair and smirked as she watched the older woman being taken away. When she was the only one left in the room, she stood and followed suit to everyone else.

* * *

For the first time in days, the girls were on their own and in classes without much worry. It was their first day off detail and it would also be the first day they would be able to work and be able to return to an empty house.

Leaving international affairs of Afghanistan and history of international epidemics, the twins left the liberal arts building and walked to work. They life was as close to normal as it was going to get.

Today's work shift was short and uneventful. The three hours passed quickly and they mainly saw the same people. The only thing that was new was Tai visiting at the end of their shift. Best friend to Kanon and boyfriend to Kokoro, he seemed to make their day shine a little brighter.

They walked back to campus for a few hours, talking and laughing- enjoying themselves before Tai had to go to his only night class. The girls caught a fare to their house and began to gather their belongings. The house was supposed to go on the market starting tomorrow, so they needed all of their extra belongings out and in their dorm.

Kanon took a sweep of the house and sighed. There wasn't much time spent here, but she did enjoy some of the days here, especially with her dad. It saddened her to think of that, but she was trying to prepare herself for the morning service tomorrow.

"Hey, you wanna crash here and just not go back to the dorm?" Kanon called out to Kokoro.

"Sure. Besides, I'm just too tired." Kokoro plopped onto the bed and the noise echoed throughout the upstairs.

Near the couch in the living room, Kanon sat on it and planned to use the arm rest as a pillow. Sprawling out in order to attempt to get comfortable, she stared at the ceiling as heavy eyelids signaled the beginnings of rest.


	19. Wishes and Smiles

Make the Grade

Chapter Eighteen

**Wishes and Smiles**

* * *

It was the end of the funeral- the last time everybody would be able to see the body. People walked out calmly and the only ones who stayed were the girls and the Special Agents of NCIS. Director Vance was still around the place, but he wasn't in the room.

The funeral director led the body to the cremating room and before placing the body in the furnace, the girls had their last chance to see their dad. He was peaceful looking, like always. Even in death, to them, he hadn't changed. It just seemed like he was sleeping. Nothing really hit them quite yet.

Outside smoke could be seen rising from the chimney of the building. The body had been placed and was being reduced to ashes that would be divided between two urns- one for each girl, as a last gift and wish for remembrance and happiness. One wish and one smile for each girl.


	20. Epilogue

Make the Grade

**Epilogue**

* * *

Nearing the end of the semester on the campus of Georgetown University, Kanon walked out of the liberal arts and history building. Her international affairs class was finished early for the day and she headed toward her dorm to get ready to spend time with her friends. They were going into town to have a good time.

Halfway to her residence hall, two people, each holding somewhat similar badges approached her. Both knew of each other, but neither was associated with each other. They were on a mission with nearly identical goals. One man she recognized from her time at NCIS- he was from the FBI. She saw him when he and his men took her pseudo-stepmother and another man from the building. The other man was new to her.

They questioned her about future plans, tried to persuade her to join their respective agency. She just smiled and nodded as they continued to talk and try to verbally get one up on the other. She found it rather entertaining that the FBI and the CIA would be recruiting end of the year juniors.

"What are you doing this summer? You should sign up for summer internship at the CIA," the unfamiliar man added. That's when she stopped.

"You're not very knowledgeable of the paperwork that goes through the summer internship, are you?" she asked him. "I've already applied and I'm translating this summer…" She just smiled at him and walked off.

Fornell looked at the man and chuckled. "She'll be working for me. Have a good day." He left the campus and the other man, still in some minor shock, just stood there for a few minutes realizing he may have lost a recruit to the FBI. He would be in a little bit of water when he got back to the DC Headquarters.

* * *

At the doors to the main entrance of her hall stood two Special Agents she knew well. She walked right up to them and stopped, giving each of them an odd stare.

"Something up?" she asked Agents Gibbs and DiNozzo.

"Just saw the FBI, CDC, ATF, CIA and other lettered agencies walking about. Thought we'd join in on the fun," said DiNozzo.

"Ah, well, I already met two of them."

"And?" Gibbs probed.

"I think the guy from the CIA is still in shock."

"And?" Tony probed, knowing there was a little more to it than that. Gibbs gave her a probing look too.

"And you'll find out after I graduate," she said and then looked at Gibbs. "You'll probably find out before then, though."

* * *

**Author's Note:** This is the end. Tune in for the sequel. I'll do my best to have the initial chapter up by the end of the month. I leave for college in a few days, so I'll be working quickly! R&R


End file.
